[ Home ] [ Library ] [ Index ] [ Maps ] [ Links ] [ Search ] [ Email ]
In the continuation, the Dutch Government report continues to reveal the shocking disregard Clinton administration had toward the United Nations' arms embargo resolution, but also toward American NATO allies.
Dutch Government Srebrenica Study:
Secret arms supplies to the Bosnian Muslims:
The Black Flights to Tuzla
Here presented short excerpts come from "Appendix II" entitled: "Intelligence and the war in Bosnia 1992 – 1995: The role of the intelligence and security services," Chapter 4. The chapter itself is entitled: "Secret arms supplies and other covert actions." We have a mirror of those pages (in case they disappear from the original web site) at this link. The original, Dutch page is here.
The original quotes are on green "stickers." The titles on these stickers are ours.
For fair use only
Published under the provision of
U.S. Code, Title 17, section 107.
|
while pretending to talk about lifting the arms embargo |
|
[The U.S. Secretary of State Warren] Christopher still
feared leaks [about Iran-Bosnia arms supply line,
supported by the Washington] and angry reactions from London,
Ottawa and Paris, which could lead to the departure of
[their troops dressed as] UNPROFOR. Meanwhile, a [pretend] debate was raging in the US Congress about lifting the arms embargo against Bosnia. This debate also did not go unnoticed in various capitals and in UNPROFOR. For instance, Netherlands Prime Minister Wim Kok told President Clinton by phone of his great concern about the possible lifting of the arms embargo. Clinton expressed understanding, but pointed to the domestic political pressure from Congress for lifting the arms embargo, which he himself called 'hypocritical', because in the event of a unilateral decision it would not be American but other troops who would run large security risks. In a gloomy and comprehensive scenario, Akashi outlined from Zagreb [Croatia] the possible consequences for the UN peacekeeping operations. The UNPROFOR commanders considered that lifting the arms embargo could be deemed by the Bosnian Serbs to be a de facto declaration of war by the international community. This had consequences for the humanitarian efforts and would lead to the VRS stepping up military actions against UNPROFOR. Furthermore, the VRS could feel forced to start large-scale military operations before the arms reached the ABiH, and UNPROFOR would lose any semblance of impartiality. The VRS would consider lifting the arms embargo to be new evidence of Western support to the Bosnian Muslims. Furthermore, the VRS would immediately withdraw its heavy weapons from the Weapon Collection Points in Sarajevo and other areas. |
How shocking to see hypocrite Clinton talk about hypocrisy. As he was regurgitating the word, he knew full well that Bosnia arms embargo is a sham and that Iran-Bosnia arms supply line, with American approval and supervision, was working full well.
But, Clinton wanted more,... more weapons for the Bosnian Muslims. As his reelection time was getting near he wanted Bosnia closer to an "end game." For that he needed his Muslim proxy supplied more efficiently. As Iranian weapons were shipped through Zagreb, Croatia and Croats skimmed good percentage of the weaponry for themselves, Clinton wanted to eliminate this middleman markup. A more direct supply route was needed. Muslim controlled air base at Tuzla (North-East Bosnia) was a natural end point of the supply route. Also, it was close to Srebrenica and other besieged "safe areas," the Americans will use as an excuse for even more direct involvement of America in the conflict.
|
NATO allies kept in the dark |
|
[I]t was decided at the highest
level [of American governmeent] to seek out opportunities
for the ABiH [Bosnian Muslim Army] to acquire arms and
ammunition without the intervention of Zagreb.
This meant direct supplies, but this was impossible
via Sarajevo because the airfield was frequently
under [Serbian] fire. Therefore Tuzla Air Base [TAB],
in East Bosnia was decided upon... ... ... At 17.45 on 10 February 1995, the Norwegian Captain Ivan Moldestad, a Norwegian helicopter detachment (NorAir) pilot, stood in the doorway of his temporary accommodation just outside Tuzla. It was dark, and suddenly he heard the sound of the propellers of an approaching transport aircraft; it was unmistakably a four engine Hercules C-130. Moldestad noticed that the Hercules was being escorted by two jet fighters, but could not tell their precise type in the darkness. There were other sightings of this secretive night-time flight to Tuzla Air Base (TAB). A sentry who was on guard duty outside the Norwegian medical UN unit in Tuzla also heard and saw the lights of the Hercules and the accompanying jet fighters. Other UN observers, making use of night vision equipment, also saw the cargo aircraft and the fighter planes concerned. The reports were immediately forwarded to the NATO Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC) in Vicenza and the UNPF Deny Flight Cell in Naples. When Moldestad phoned Vicenza, he was told that there was nothing in the air that night, and that he must be mistaken. When Moldestad persisted, the connection was broken. The secretive C-130 cargo aircraft flights and night-time arms drops on Tuzla caused great agitation within UNPROFOR and the international community in February and March 1995. When asked, a British general responded with great certainty to the question of the origin of the secret supplies via TAB [Tuzla Air Base]: 'They were American arms deliveries. No doubt about that. And American private companies were involved in these deliveries.' This was no surprising answer, because this general had access to intelligence gathered by a unit of the British Special Air Services (SAS) in Tuzla. The aircraft had come within range of this unit's special night vision equipment, and the British saw them land. It was a confirmation that a clandestine American operation had taken place in which arms, ammunition and military communication equipment were supplied to the ABiH. These night-time operations led to much consternation within the UN and NATO, and were the subject of countless speculations. The question is whether the British general was right in his allegation that these were American consignments, and who was involved in these supplies on the Bosnian side... Nothing was done with Moldestad's report on 10 February 1995 that he had heard a Hercules C-130 on Tuzla Air Base. The Norwegian logistics battalion (known as NorLogBat), 4 kilometres from Tuzla West, also reported observing three unidentified aircraft: one cargo aircraft and two jet fighters. The cargo aircraft was described as a four-engine Hercules; the two fighters each flew close to either of the wing tips of the C-130 and left the area immediately after the Hercules has started the final approach. This was a familiar flying trick, because it created the impression on the radar screen that only one aircraft was in the air. Independently of this, Norwegian medical personnel (of NorMedCoy) reported seeing the same C-130. Shortly afterwards, observers heard how the jet fighters skimmed over Tuzla. At 18.45 hours a report arrived that all the aircraft had left again. These events were repeated on 12 February. After these observations, the Norwegian commander drafted an official report (Vakrapport), which summarized all the reports of NorLogBat and NorMedCoy, including the observations of 10 and 12 February. The NorMedCoy observer was extremely emphatic: he had seen the Hercules. Not only did the Norwegians draft a report, but the headquarters of Sector North East also immediately sent a report to Bosnia-Hercegovina Command in Sarajevo. The author was Lieutenant Colonel C.A. Le Hardy. It started with: 'this is a sensitive report.' The report set out the events: immediately after the first reports, a patrol was sent to investigate. It arrived on the spot one and a half hours later. This patrol was fired on near the Tuzla Highway Strip, and then surrounded by thirty ABiH [Bosnian Muslim] soldiers. The patrol saw five trucks near a few old hangars, but were forced to leave without being able to observe an aircraft or inspect any possible military cargo... The clandestine flights almost always seem to have taken place on nights either when no AWACS were in the air, or AWACS aircraft with US crews... On 16 February, another C-130 was observed, and in the following days two more. A British daily newspaper even made a connection with a visit by Holbrooke to Turkey in mid February. This was not the end of the matter, because a further four flights were observed, where one aircraft was seen by a British UNMO using night vision binoculars. On 17 and 19 February, UN personnel made sixteen reports of helicopters that landed on Tuzla Air Base. Yet another cargo aircraft was said to have landed, or to have ejected its load at low altitude. Norwegian UNPROFOR patrols were consistently hindered by the ABiH. They did observe a few days later that the ABiH were wearing new American-manufactured uniforms. UNPROFOR soldiers established that a convoy of approximately 75 trucks left the airfield in the evening... On the question regarding Black Flights, the commander of the Norwegian battalion, Colonel G. Arlefalk, stated that his soldiers sometimes reported six to eight aircraft to him, approaching from the direction of Brcko. The aircraft flew low and mostly without lights. One night, Arlefalk himself saw a Hercules approximately at 100 metres above his head at 03.00 hours. Arlefalk himself had flown in a C-130 on several occasions, and its sound and silhouette were unmistakable according to him. A temporary observation post was set up to gain a better view of these flights. In response to one of his reports, he was told that they had been AWACS, and moreover that they had been much further to the east: 'all the soldiers laughed themselves silly when that answer came', Arlefalk said. It is clear, and Le Hardy's second report in no way detracts from this, that aircraft were observed above Tuzla in February that landed on the Highway Strip or ejected their load from a very low altitude. It was abundantly clear to all parties that something was going on. There were even aerial photographs of crates on the [Tuzla Airport] Highway Strip. |
|
to U.N. protected, "demilitarized zone" Srebrenica! |
|
The equipment that was delivered
in Tuzla consisted mainly of quick-firing weapons,
ammunition, uniforms, helmets, new anti-tank weapons
and Stingers. The archive of the 281st ABiH Brigade in
Zepa [a U.N. "safe zone" next to Srebrenica] reveals
that much military equipment was delivered from Tuzla
by helicopter for Zepa, largely to be forwarded in
transit from there to Srebrenica. The ABiH
commander of Zepa reported, for example, that on
14 February 1995, a few days after the first
observations of the Black Flights, forty machine
guns were transported by air, some of which were
to be brought to Srebrenica. The VRS [Bosnian Serb Army]
did fire on the helicopter, but without result. At the
same time, the flight delivered DM 308,000. The commander
of Zepa did not know what he was supposed to do with this money,
but he assumed that it was destined for the 28th Division
in Srebrenica. Two days later, on 16 February, an ABiH helicopter was hit by VRS anti-aircraft fire. The increasing number of helicopter flights with military equipment not only to Zepa, but also directly to Srebrenica, led to an order from the [Bosnian Serb] Drina Corps to various VRS units to shoot down these aircraft. In mid April, the ABiH commander of Zepa gave a summary of what he had received by air and what had been forwarded in transit to Srebrenica. Zepa had received the following items: 23,500 7.62 mm calibre cartridges, 15 mines (82 mm), 25 mines (60 mm), 4 TF-8 rockets, 34 B.R. M-93 machine guns and 1 rocket launcher for a TF-8 rocket. The total forwarded in transit to Srebrenica was 50,000 7.62 mm calibre cartridges, 35 mines (82 mm), 75 mines (60 mm), 90 B.R. M-93 machine guns, 123 uniforms and 124 pairs of shoes. A computer and a printer were also delivered to Srebrenica... In the spring, Dutchbat [stationed in Srebrenica] would also establish that the ABiH received new arms from Tuzla and that training was being stepped up. |
|
could only watch |
|
All in all, sufficient evidence exists that
these flights took place. However, little
protest was forthcoming from the Bosnian Serbs,
and the question is why that was the case...
The VRS [Bosnian Serb Army] was in any case well
aware of these flights. On 13 and 24 February 1995,
[Serbian] General Mladic sent letters to [NATO]
General De Lapresle in Zagreb and to [American]
General Smith in Sarajevo. According to Mladic,
aircraft had landed in Tuzla on these days,
escorted by two jet fighters, and they had
delivered arms and ammunition. Mladic complained
that this had happened in front of the eyes of
UNPROFOR, but they had not intervened. He accused
UNPROFOR of bias and stated that from now on he
could no longer guarantee the safety of NATO
aircraft in the air space. On 5 March 1995,
Mladic again complained to General Smith
about the flights. It was also possible to deduce that the VRS was well aware of the state of affairs from an interview with the former Minister of Information of the Republika Srpska, Miroslav Toholj. He was minister from 1993-1996 and asserted that the Bosnian Serb regime [sic!] in Pale realized all too well that the military and other assistance from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Malaysia and other Islamic countries would eventually enable the ABiH to conduct a long war. Toholj asserted that Pale knew of the flights of the C-130s - according to him not American but Turkish Hercules aircraft, with an element of 'logistics patronage' from the United States. According to Toholj, the arms were transported from Tuzla to Srebrenica and Zepa. The VRS [Bosnian Serb Army] would not have dared to fire on these aircraft for fear that this would be interpreted and presented by the media in the West as an attack on an aircraft with humanitarian relief goods... There are indications that the Bosnian Serbs turned a blind eye to the Black Flights, [what else could they do!?] for example in Bihac, where similar flights took place. This siege made the situation for ABiH [Muslim] General Dudakovic's 5th Corps in the Bihac enclave almost untenable. He told General Rupert Smith so via the Joint Commission Observers. One night, the Danish General Helsø - the UNPROFOR commander in the Bihac enclave - heard the sound of propellers on a gravel airstrip in the enclave. He recognized the specific sound of the four propellers of the Hercules C-130, because they kept turning. The Krajina Serbs fired a number of shells, but they all fell next to the runway, and this while the Krajina Serbs at other times fired very accurately with their artillery. This was, according to General Helsø, a warning along the lines of: 'we know what you are up to, but don't go too far'. This is an indication that the only reason for the VRS to permit the flights was that the VRS [Bosnian Serb Army] did not want the Americans against them... From 1992 onwards, daily helicopter flights were made into [Muslim held enclave of] Bihac. East European pilots were paid $5000 per trip by the Bosnian Army's 5th Corps. In August 1994, a large Antonov An-26 transport aircraft, owned by a Ukrainian air charter, was shot down by the VRS and the crew killed while flying from Croatia to Bihac. |
|
|
|
Journalists and researchers have asked the
question whether it was not American aircraft
after all that carried out the Black Flights.
The most common answer was that only one country
actually qualified for these night-time operations:
the United States. The fact is that it is unlikely
that the Americans would 'blind' their AWAC
aircraft for Iranian planes. The operation was
said to be have been paid for from a Pentagon
Special Operations budget, with the complete
assent of the White House. Probably the most
important members of Congress were informed in
the deepest of secrecy, and they were therefore
'in the loop' concerning the events... In Deliberate Force, Ripley describes how three Southern Air Transport C-130s from Rhein Main airfield in Germany carried out the flights. It is not so strange that Southern Air Transport (SAT) crops up in this account: it was, like Civil Air Transport, Air Asia and Air America, former CIA property. These companies were involved in many secret CIA operations. They carried out hundreds of Black Flights around the world. It was only in the mid 1970s that these companies were sold, but they continue to perform so-called contract work for the CIA, and the service still exercises considerable influence on the affairs of the airline company... A British researcher put a question regarding American involvement to various sources, and most ('eyes were raised ceiling-wards') answered him as follows: 'Who else has the skill and expertise to carry out such a swift, delicate mission covertly? The Saudis? The Turks? The Iranians?' The specialized crews and the types of aircraft for these night-time operations indeed appeared to point in only one direction: that of the United States... Nonetheless, it is improbable that US aircraft were involved, but this does then raise the question of who had organized the operation... The [Clinton] strategy [to supply arms to Muslims] via third party countries was then opted for... Much points in the direction that this was an operation by a third party country, with the assent of parts of the US government. Another indication that US services were not directly involved, was Holbrooke's evidence to Senate: 'US intelligence agencies were not involved.' This is correct if it refers to an operation that was sanctioned 'remotely'... A prominent White House adviser confirmed that the United States did not wish to violate the arms embargo. It would undermine the authority of Security Council resolutions, however much the Americans were uncomfortable with this embargo. If the Americans themselves were to violate the embargo, then the imposition of an embargo elsewhere would be made impossible. Washington definitely did play a role in the background, however... A number of countries are candidates for having supplied directly to Bosnia. Pakistan delivered equipment, as did the Sultan of Brunei, who paid for anti-tank missiles from Malaysia. In January 1993 already, a Pakistani vessel with ten containers of arms, which were destined for the ABiH, was intercepted in the Adriatic Sea. Pakistan definitely defied the United Nations ban on supply of arms to the Bosnian Muslims and sophisticated anti-tank guided missiles were air lifted by the Pakistani intelligence agency, ISI, to help Bosnians fight the Serbs, an ex-ISI Chief has officially admitted in a written petition submitted before a court in Lahore. The document was submitted by Lt. General (Retd) Javed Nasir, who was head of the ISI from March 1992 to May 1993, in a case he filed against the owner and editors of the largest newspaper and TV group of Pakistan, in an anti Terrorism Court. It remains unclear how the missiles were transported to Bosnia and who did it. Furthermore, tons of diplomatic post regularly arrived by air in Sarajevo from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran. Doubts were raised about the diplomatic immunity of the content of the load. A foundation that was affiliated to the Saudi royal family also provided millions of dollars in arms assistance. Moreover, Malaysia attempted to sidestep the embargo via merchant shipping and the Malaysian UNPROFOR soldiers that were stationed in Bosnia. All of these were direct supplies to Bosnia, because the Bosnian government was dissatisfied with the Croatian authorities’ practice of skimming the arms supplies, or because the government did not want to become entirely dependent on Zagreb. This could be avoided by direct flights from certain countries. In addition to Iran (via Croatia), Turkey proved to be the most important supplier of arms to the ABiH. Turkey had been closely involved in the secret arms supplies to Bosnia for some time. As early as 1992 Iran had opened a smuggling route to Bosnia with the assistance of Turkey; this was two years before the Clinton administration gave 'permission' for creating the Croatian pipeline. Bosnian government officials acknowledged that in 1993 a Turkish pipeline also existed, through which the above-mentioned arms from Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Brunei and Pakistan were smuggled. Other consignments came from Belgium, Hungary, Uganda and Argentina. In Argentina a scandal erupted because President Menem had issued a decree for the delivery of 8000 FN-Fals (automatic rifles), 155 mm guns, 2000 pistols, 211,000 hand grenades, 3000 rockets, 30,000 grenades, 3000 landmines and millions of rounds of ammunition to Bolivia. This country stated, however, that it had ordered nothing and the Argentine parliament discovered that the arms and ammunition were destined for Croatia and elsewhere... In the summer and autumn of 1994, the CIA reported that spy satellites had taken photos of Iranian aircraft on Turkish airfields. Two days later, satellite photos were taken of the same aircraft in Zagreb or at other airports in Croatia, where the arms were unloaded. According to O'Shea, Turkey's involvement was clear. Specially modified C-130s from American bases in the United Kingdom and Germany would pick up their cargo on remote runways in the Turkish part of Cyprus. The cargo, which consisted of arms and ammunition, would have been delivered there by Iranian and Turkish aircraft. The aircraft would fly to Croatia via the Adriatic, and then on to Bosnia. If the Hercules, with its modest range, could not achieve its objective in one hop, it could always make a stopover on the Croatian island of Brac, close to the coast near Split. The population there indeed often observed C-130 aircraft that operated from this airfield. From this island the CIA also operated its UAVs flying over Bosnia. The Croatian Minister of Defence, Susak, claimed that most of the aircraft that landed there came from Turkey and not Iran.[20] Also quite some military goods were delivered to the Pula airport on the Istrian peninsula. |
|
Mujahedin (by thousands) were shipped, too. |
|
The greatest tension was caused by the
participation of Muslims from Western
Europe and the Middle East in the ABiH.
'Approximately
4000 Mujahedin, supported by Iranian special
operations forces, have been continually
intensifying their activities in central
Bosnia for more than two years',
according to the American Lieutenant Colonel
John Sray, who was an intelligence officer
in Sarajevo from April to August 1994...
These were non-Bosnian,
Islamic-fundamentalist fighters from Turkey,
Iran, Pakistan, Sudan, Afghanistan, Jordan,
Lebanon, Algeria and Saudi Arabia. Furthermore,
the names of Jihad, Fis, Hamas and Hezbollah
were linked with the Mujahedin in Bosnia... The Mujahedin formed part of the 4th, 7th and 8th Muslimski brigade, stationed around Zenica in central Bosnia, and took part in the activities of several paramilitary units, such as the Black Swans. They fell under the responsibility of the ABiH 3rd and 7th Corps. Furthermore, there were approximately 25 other Muslim factions and units active in Bosnia, which also included women. These groups were supplied by the ABiH, but operated decentrally as special units or shock troops... President Izetbegovic especially appeared to see the fighters as 'a conduit for funds from the Gulf and Middle East'. Within the framework of the Dayton agreement, the Mujahedin fighters should have left Bosnia before 13 January 1996. In October, UNPROFOR concluded that the numbers had declined to between 700 and 800... Only at the end of 1996 did the US government get its own way, and Bosnia severed the military and intelligence links with Iran. |
RELATED TOPICS:
Clinton approves turning Bosnia into Militant Islamic Base
Too little - too late. This "Republican Committee" analysis is up to the point but a few years too late (issued in January 1997). It gives all the basic facts needed but still cannot fathom the depth of Clinton's treason. A MUST READ.
BBC presents its documentary "Allies and lies" in June, 2001. The documentary talks about Clinton's secret arming of Islam Fundamentalists in Bosnia.
Excerpts from the above mentioned BBC presents documentary "Allies and lies." A MUST READ. Not only allies but not even American general, the current commander of NATO was informed about Clinton's covert actions to give arms (EVEN STINGERS!) to Muslim fundamentalists.
British The Spectator goes a step further (in its article of September 23, 2003) to show that Islam fundamentalists were not only armed. They were trained too.
NEXT: [ Srebrenica - mujahedin safe heaven! ]
BACK TO: [ Srebrenica "massacre" ]
|
Where am I? PATH:
|
